As is well known, bowling such as ten pin bowling, is played in two main forms. One form is league bowling wherein a plurality of teams compete against one another. The other form is so-called open bowling, where individuals play strictly for recreational purposes and/or to compete amongst themselves on an individual basis.
Bowling proprietors, that is, the owners of bowling establishments, rely on open bowling to occupy their establishments when league play is not occurring. Without the revenue stream produced by open bowling, most proprietors would suffer financial difficulty. Consequently, it is desirable to maintain and increase the number of open bowlers using a given bowling establishment.
To accomplish this goal, variations on conventional bowling have been derived to entice open bowlers to a bowling establishment. One promotion that has worked well to attract open bowlers has been the so-called “black out promotion”, often referred to as “moonlight bowling”. For this, the lights of the bowling establishment are dimmed and lighting above the lane eliminated entirely. Moonlight bowling is especially popular with bowling proprietors because the relaxed, fun atmosphere that results attracts customers who are often not regular bowlers. These new customers then provide the means whereby the number of open bowlers using an establishment may be maintained and/or increased to thereby maintain and/or increase the revenue stream generated by open bowling.
While the advent of moonlight bowling has indeed succeeded in attracting non-regular bowlers, it remains nonetheless a goal of a bowling proprietor to achieve an even greater increase in non-regular bowlers attending his or her establishment. The present invention is directed to achieving that object.
This invention also relates to ten pin bowling lanes and other indoor bowling lanes, such as five pin and duck pin bowling lanes. It is especially useful for a reconstructed bowling lane surface, in a method of preparing a bowling lane surface, and as a bowling lane surface protecting material over wood or synthetic lanes.
Bowling lane assemblies are composed of an elongated lane, a wider approach section at the foul line end, and a pin deck on the pin deck end. These lanes are primarily of two main types. One type is formed of joined wood boards. The other type has a synthetic surface on a support base such as pressed wood. Both types are mounted on an elevating support structure.
After a period of use of the lane, the action of bowling balls on the lane surface and repeated refinishing of the surface create wear and dents requiring resurfacing or reconstruction of the lane. A conventional way of treating the lane is to sand it down and apply a new finish coat to it. Another more recent technique for resurfacing bowling lanes is to cover the lane with a thin flexible tape or film 0.076 to 0.178 mm (3 to 7 mils) thick and having an undersurface coated with adhesive, not totally unlike a giant roll of cellophane tape, as described in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,795,152 and 4,867,816.
This later technique has been found to be effective for many bowling establishments and has been widely used. However, it is not universally applicable, and it requires considerable skill and effort to avoid problems associated with the large underside adhesive surface area. The film must be carefully controlled as it is being unrolled and laid in order to minimize air pockets, misalignment, and other difficulties from an adhesive material of this nature. One specific difficulty, which arises when using this film, occurs due to seasonal movement in boards for wooden lanes. Because the material is adhered to the entire surface of the lane, the expansion and contraction of the wood boards can cause waves or tunneling of the film material resulting in a lane surface that is not smooth. Later removal of the film also destroys the film.
Additionally, the film material is thin and does not prevent the wood underneath from being dented by the ball or pins. Abrasive material or sharp pieces on the ball may penetrate the thin film. The ball can also penetrate the film used in this technique if the film is not cared for properly. The film lasts only three to ten years.
Rigid synthetic lane panels are also sometimes used to reconstruct lane surfaces. However, this is extremely expensive and leaves joints between the panels. The panels are usually about ½ inch thick and 12 feet long phenolic or phenolic pressed wood panels.
It would be advantageous to be able to protect new lanes from the need to recondition them, or if worn, to protect them against further wear, and thereby extend their useful life indefinitely.